MANILA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has launched a new country partnership strategy (CPS) for Sri Lanka covering the period 2024-2028 that focuses on restoring the country's macroeconomic stability, reviving growth, and establishing the foundation for sustainable recovery and resilience.

According to the ADB, Sri Lanka is showing signs of stability and recovery from a deep economic crisis. Data shows that Sri Lanka's inflation significantly declined from 69.8 percent to 4.0 percent between September 2022 and December 2023. Foreign exchange reserves have increased to 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 from 1.9 billion dollars in 2022.

"Sri Lanka's economic growth returned to positive territory in the second half of 2023, and that momentum is likely to continue," the ADB said.

The ADB said its assistance under the new CPS for Sri Lanka will strengthen public financial management and governance, foster private sector development, promote green growth, improve access to climate-smart public services, and deepen inclusion.

"Three thematic priorities -- climate action, disaster resilience, and environmental sustainability; gender equality and social inclusion; and governance, capacity development, and digitalization -- will be integrated into the new CPS strategic objectives," the ADB added.

The new CPS supports the South Asian country's efforts to tackle the key underlying causes of the crisis, including reforming the public financial management system, strengthening governance, accelerating domestic resource mobilization, and improving fiscal and debt sustainability, as well as measures to improve the performance of state-owned enterprises. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)